It has been a busy couple of weeks since the last blog. Firstly there was a big
shunt around in the shed which allowed the chassis of 5643 to be placed over
the pit where the driving wheel springs have now been fitted. John Dixon is
seen here taking advantage of the empty centre road to do some sweeping up.
550 brand new firebox stays have arrived for Great Western Railway 0-6-2T
locomotive No. 5643 from the Williton workshop of the West Somerset Railway.
Last Friday saw Chris Rycroft and John tapping out sixty stay holes on the
left-hand side of 5643’s firebox.
Keith has since been trimming the stays to size and fitting them in readiness
for caulking up. As will be appreciated, the tapping out of such a number of
stay holes and fitting of stays is likely to keep working members busy for some while.
This next photo shows the top two rows of stays in place, below the silver
paint line.
Next we are sorry to have to report that Alison has been confined to bed after
taking a tumble at home. Needless to say, Alison hopes to be with us at the
Ribble Pilot this next Friday evening for the FRT’s Christmas dinner. Guests
are asked to arrive in good time to allow a prompt start at 7 pm.
Finally, some of you may have noticed that the FRT’s web site has been taken
down with a placeholder notifying people of how to contact the Trust. A new
web site is under construction and it is hoped to have this available very
shortly.
We leave you this week with a photo that has been doing the rounds of an
unfortunate gritting lorry in Yorkshire that left the road. The incident rather
highlights the fundamental design flaw of these machines in that the salt and
grit is distributed from the rear of the lorry instead of the front: